January 24 marked the third time I’ve seen the Greg Mayo Band and I’m still just as astounded as I was the first time they came onstage, donning black suits and a wicked attitude.
These guys just never disappoint me. They certainly didn’t disappoint anyone in Sarah Street Bar either --- I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people, mostly students, dancing on the tiny open space in front of the purple and red lighted stage. (What a great break from studying for ESU students!)
There’s something about the way they combine familiar genres jazz, blues, funk, soul, and pop that makes for an extremely tasty mixture. In fact, I could pick out some of the band’s influences --- Stevie Wonder, for one --- before lead singer Greg Mayo even mentioned them the first time I saw the band. Mayo’s voice, as I have mentioned before in my previous review, is completely beautiful. It’s a little poppy, but altogether smooth and always on pitch and in harmony with the other band member’s voices. The vocals, mixed with the sumptuous saxophone solos, wicka-wicka-wa-was of the funky guitar, and poppin’ drums make you want to get up and shake that moneymaker. (Especially on their up-tempo hit “Get Down”).
During their performance last Saturday, they played songs off of their latest CD, entitled Universal Communication. (I think I’ve overplayed my copy --- I’ve listened to it at least once a week for the past two months.) However, my appetite for this band will be satisfied once more, as Greg Mayo informed me that the guys will be taking the month of February off to record a new album. Fans of the group will certainly be ecstatic when they come back to Stroudsburg in March with the new album for purchase. Even on Saturday, I watched many bar hoppers buy copies of Universal Communication.
To see more pictures from their performance at Sarah Street Grill, visit the always entertaining Ear Plugs Web Album.
To read my full article on the band, visit Helium.
No comments:
Post a Comment